Incorrect Lighting
So you just brought home some new fluffy butts. You made sure to get them some bedding, a water dish, a feeder and maybe even some treats. But did you get them a decent heat source?
If you purchased your chicks/ducklings at a feed store, chances are they had two choices for keeping your new babies warm. A clear heat lamp and a red heat lamp. I assume most new poultry keepers go for the clear bulb so that they can see their new babies, and it just somehow seems like the better option. BUT I do believe the red heat lamp is the way to go (now, if you can afford a Brinsea EcoGlow, I would highly suggest getting that instead!).
What I have learned from using the clear heat bulbs is that it attracts bugs and causes the chicks to peck each other more as well as peck at the walls of their brooder. It also seems to keep them up at night, in turn keeping me up too (I am crazy, and brood my babies in my bedroom..)
With the red heat bulb the chicks and ducklings just seem more calm. It reduces pecking, keeps them warm, is easier on their little eyes, and isn't so bright that it keeps us all up at night.
Improper Lighting (and hazards)
Have you ever poured a cold liquid into a hot glass without thinking, causing the glass to shatter? Apply that idea to all hot glass/cold liquid scenarios. This is one of the most overlooked hazards of raising chicks. The light needs to be kept fairly low for the first couple weeks to keep the babies properly warm. Easy enough. Or is it?
With the heat lamp being so low, it is easier than one might think for a messy chick or duckling to splatter water, risking splashing some onto their heat lamp. Even just a drop can cause the light to shatter, opening up all sorts of dangers for your babies, especially if you're not there. Not only is water a hazard, but dust particles, feather/quill, pieces of straw etc. can all drift up, finding their way onto the lamp posing a potential threat/risk of fire.
SO if you can afford it, go with a Brinsea EcoGlow or something similar. But if that's not an option for you, try to choose a red heat bulb with a safety screen of some sort. Make sure to install the light close but not too close. Having a large brooder will allow keeping the light and the water a good distance from each other (but as you may know by now, ducklings are insistent upon soaking everything!)
Is My Brooder Warm Enough?
The easiest way to tell is by studying the behavior of your chicks/ducklings. There are suggested temperatures to keep your brooder at during certain stages as well as brooder thermometers to help you accurately determine the temp. BUT all animals are unique, so it is best to watch them and get to know what temperature they seem to like best. Sometimes when brooding multiples you will have chicks that are cold while some are panting due to being too hot. If given a large enough brooder, you can design it to where the heat source is on one side, allowing them to choose the temperature that is best for them.
If chicks are cold, they will huddle together. Oftentimes peeping louder than usual and seeimg overal discontent. If this is the case, lower the heat lamp and see what happens. Once they start to warm up, the babies will disperse, claiming their own little area of the brooder. They might even scratch around before plopping down to stretch out their wings, soaking up as much heat as possible. Now pay attention because there is a fine line of being contently warm and starting to cook! If the chicks seem to be extra thirsty, panting, lethargic, not hungry and keeping to themselves, they could be super hot! (Now make sure this is due to being overheated, as you don't want to overlook anything that could be fatal.)
Again, this is where the Brinsea EcoGlow (which I cannot afford, lol) would come in handy! It is extra safe, adjustable, easy to clean, and just looks more aesthetically pleasing than a heat lamp.
The temperature should be 90-95 degrees for the first week in the warmest part of the brooder and should be reduced by around 5 degrees each week thereafter, until the chicks have their feathers (5-8 weeks old)
Is My Brooder Warm Enough?
The easiest way to tell is by studying the behavior of your chicks/ducklings. There are suggested temperatures to keep your brooder at during certain stages as well as brooder thermometers to help you accurately determine the temp. BUT all animals are unique, so it is best to watch them and get to know what temperature they seem to like best. Sometimes when brooding multiples you will have chicks that are cold while some are panting due to being too hot. If given a large enough brooder, you can design it to where the heat source is on one side, allowing them to choose the temperature that is best for them.
If chicks are cold, they will huddle together. Oftentimes peeping louder than usual and seeimg overal discontent. If this is the case, lower the heat lamp and see what happens. Once they start to warm up, the babies will disperse, claiming their own little area of the brooder. They might even scratch around before plopping down to stretch out their wings, soaking up as much heat as possible. Now pay attention because there is a fine line of being contently warm and starting to cook! If the chicks seem to be extra thirsty, panting, lethargic, not hungry and keeping to themselves, they could be super hot! (Now make sure this is due to being overheated, as you don't want to overlook anything that could be fatal.)
Again, this is where the Brinsea EcoGlow (which I cannot afford, lol) would come in handy! It is extra safe, adjustable, easy to clean, and just looks more aesthetically pleasing than a heat lamp.
The temperature should be 90-95 degrees for the first week in the warmest part of the brooder and should be reduced by around 5 degrees each week thereafter, until the chicks have their feathers (5-8 weeks old)
